The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party said it has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Benin seeking to disqualify the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Godwin Obaseki, from contesting the September 10 governorship election.
The party is asking the court for a declaration that Obaseki’s statement that he graduated from the University of Ibadan with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Classical Studies in 1976, made under oath in the Independent National Election Commission form CF001, Part B, Paragraph C and dated July 11, 2016, was false.
The defendants in the suit with reference number FHC/B/CO/120/16, dated September 1, 2016, are Obaseki and INEC.
The Edo State Chairman of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih, who disclosed this on Tuesday, explained that the party’s assessment of the affidavit showed that the APC candidate allegedly lied on oath by providing false information.
Orbih argued that Obaseki’s claim that he graduated from the University of Ibadan in 1976, as deposed in a sworn affidavit in June, 2016, was false because he did not have the requisite number of passes to study Classical Studies.
The PDP chairman explained, “The man claimed he left secondary school in 1973. In this affidavit, he is claiming that he graduated in 1976; there is no way he would have gained admission to university with secondary school certificate and use three years to obtain a degree.
“What is more, the man had only three credits, with a pass in English. I want to state clearly (that) at the time he claimed in entered the university, the entry requirement for direct entry or preliminary studies was a minimum of five credits and you must have a credit in English for you to study Classical Studies.
“In the form, he claimed that he had three credits with a pass in English. What this means is that he swore on oath, showing clearly that he entered the university in a year he did not gain admission into the university.”
Although a date had not been fixed for hearing, Orbih called on Edo residents not to bother to vote for the APC, adding that the suit implied that the ruling party had no candidate.
He said, “From the details of this suit, I can say that the APC has no qualified candidate to contest this election.
But the Publicity Secretary of the Edo APC, Godwin Erhahon, said that while the PDP had the right to contest the eligibility of its (APC’s) candidate, the opposition party could not be the judge in the matter.
